This Week: Goodbyes, Teen Mums and Cats

May 19, 2013 in Featured, Food & Recipes, Friendship, Lifestyle

It’s been a big week for me, hence this post being a day later than it normally is. It was my last day in my current job and I was sad to leave. Oddly, for most people I guess, I wasn’t as sad to leave the people as I was to leave the campus. That might sound weight but hear me out – in the Faculty I left everyone works across 2 campuses, and as I’m moving to the other one I’m likely to see everybody again. Probably quite regularly. Some people even more than I used to. But I [...]

Welcome To Polite Island

May 17, 2013 in Entertainment, Featured, Fiction, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Money, People, Society, Stories, Travel

Welcome to Polite Island! You have been selected to live in this modern utopia because you embody the values of a considerate unselfish person. Polite Island was founded by a woman who was becoming increasingly frustrated with her considerate behaviour being met with inconsiderate behaviour. Instead of giving up on being a polite person and falling into pit of selfishness she came up with a plan to make the world fairer. Instead of eradicating those devoted only to themselves and who frequently engage in behaviours that can be classed as ‘douchebaggery’ we have simply excluded them from our society. This [...]

The Help: Teen Mothers

May 16, 2013 in Anecdotes, Children, Featured, Lifestyle, Mothers, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth, Stories

How many times have you walked past a pregnant female who looks far too young to have a child and judged them in your head? I’m sure I have at some stage in my life, which is not something I am proud of. Society paints teen mums as ‘irresponsible’, ‘immature’ and often feeds the stereotype that teen mums can’t be good mothers. I have heard many people say “They just want the baby bonus, it’s about money. Wait till that baby screams all night, the novelty will wear off and the money runs out and it’s not so ‘fun’ anymore, [...]

Secrets to Success from Sir Richard Branson

May 15, 2013 in Books, Celebrity, Entertainment, Featured, Lifestyle, Money, Work

He’s one of the richest men in the world, owns a bevy of successful companies, is known for outrageous PR stunts (stiff competition in his undies, apparently) and he’s going to space for God’s sake. So how does Sir Richard Branson manage, in the flesh, to be so completely unimpressive? Some might call it unassuming or down-to-earth, as though he’s just an ordinary guy untouched by fame and wealth (or a man with nothing left to prove). And he is all of those things. But he’s also just plain unimpressive – in the most compelling way possible. I was expecting [...]

My Top 5 Board Games

May 14, 2013 in Entertainment, Lifestyle, Technology

For many years the phrase “board games” has immediately reverted me back to childhood with memories of Monopoly-fuelled rage and overturned games of Connect 4. The inevitable realisation that everyone you know is actually a complete twat, and no one ever gives you a break when you’re not as good at games as anyone else. OK, so maybe that was just me. The point is, I hated board games. With the exception of Canasta and Guess Who, I perpetually avoided playing games of any kind as I knew myself well enough to know I was bound to take it personally when [...]

Don’t Be Friendly or We’ll Take It the Wrong Way

May 13, 2013 in Gender, Human Rights, News, People, Society, Travel

I was casually scrolling through news.com.au one lunchtime, and came across an article entitled “Western women warned “friendliness’ confuses Indian men”. My first reaction was “huh?” which of course prompted me to read the article. In short, Indian men “often get the ‘wrong signal’ from female tourists who are simply being friendly”. Well that makes complete sense… In this day and age, women are constantly being told they can’t do things. We can’t expect to earn the same as men. We can’t expect to be treated with respect in our chosen career. We can’t expect other women to accept us [...]

What To Say (And Not) To Someone With An Invisible Illness

May 13, 2013 in Health, People, Self, Society, Work

A lot of people suffer from many forms of Invisible Illness, including but not limited to CFS, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, TMJ disorder, Cushing’s Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, MS, Anxiety and Depression. Many of these conditions are related to a malfunctioning immune system. Mine is faulty, bordering on being totally incapable of defending itself from illness. I have Fibromyalgia which includes a diagnosis of Chronic Pain. I am a high school teacher and love my job. Unfortunately due to my health and its unpredictability, I work part time. I find it hard to commit to social engagements because [...]

Recipe: Lemon Raspberry No Fail Individual Cheesecakes

May 9, 2013 in Anecdotes, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Stories

Those who know my family and me are aware of my mother’s culinary skill. Mum is a full time nurse who spends large parts of her time off cooking. Mum is passionate about food. She loves trying new recipes and puts an incredible amount of effort and care into cooking, especially when we have guests. Having said that, mum also cooks for her family with the same attitude- attention to detail, taste, and presentation: she’s not afraid to experiment, and we are only too happy to be her test subjects. She is a dessert queen. Fluffy soufflés, moist cakes, creamy [...]

What Do You Do to Relax?

May 8, 2013 in Books, Entertainment, Film & TV, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health

What sort of stuff do you do when you need to relax? As I was pulling together my thoughts for this article I started thinking about things I do in my spare time or what I do for fun, but they’re not exactly the same thing, are they? In my spare time I might do housework (not relaxing for me) or go on social media (which is fun, but not relaxing). I find playing Dungeons & Dragons great fun, but not relaxing, as it’s a fairly intense creative experience. So what I’m asking is not what you do for fun, [...]

An Atheist, a Christian and a Marriage

May 7, 2013 in Dating, Friendship, Lifestyle, Marriage, People, Relationships, Religion, Self

I go to church sometimes. Voluntarily. And I don’t mind (much). But I’m not a signed-up member of any religion, and I don’t plan on joining. When I met my husband, Jelly, three and a half years ago, I hardly knew anyone my age who was serious about religion. Other than the compulsory Christianity most of us get in Anglo Australia (weddings, funerals, scripture classes), my childhood had been pretty secular. My attitude was that church was all a bit silly and anachronistic. Where I did have a Christian friend I avoided discussing it or whispered about it (‘they’re churchy, [...]